Chapter 47

Shi Wen, looking at the exquisite pigeon coop that Yan Kexing had made himself, was also shocked. "This is considered simple?!"

"Keeping them together in the livestock shed is considered a rather rudimentary method."

"The main issue isn't the simplicity of your pigeon coop, but rather how you manage to raise them so well under such limited conditions."

"I didn't notice when you posted the pictures earlier, but now it seems you have a really wide variety of pigeon breeds here."

Everyone started chattering and discussing it.

Shi Wen really didn't know what breeds of pigeons they raised, so he asked the question that had been bothering him.

One of the group members pointed to the nearest pigeon and said, "I know this one. It should be an Iron Stream pigeon. Look, its eyelids and eyes are the same color, it has a crest behind its nose, and its beak is medium-sized—very obvious Iron Stream pigeon characteristics."

Another group member pointed to the white pigeon behind them. "That should be an Asian aunt pigeon. Its neck is different from other breeds of pigeons, and the whole pigeon is much more delicate."

"I don't know if the one behind it is an Iron Stream Pigeon or a Blue Cat Pigeon, it looks a bit like both."

There are a total of 34 pigeons at Shi Wen's house, and seven of them have been identified by our group members.

Everyone found it incredible. "You raise so many different kinds of pigeons together and keep them so well; that's truly remarkable."

Shi Wen a wry smile, "It was all by accident."

"What accidental encounter?"

"These pigeons were rescued from a crow's nest," Shi Wen explained. "My family was harvesting silage corn, so we went to check the cornfield and found a lot of crows hiding there, and the crows' nests were full of pigeon eggs."

Shi Wen recounted what had happened that day, leaving everyone stunned.

"You can do that?"

"That family that raises pigeons had so many pigeon eggs stolen by crows, aren't they going to come looking for it?"

"I suspect they don't have the guts to look for them. Look at all these different kinds of pigeons; they're clearly not bred by a proper pigeon breeder."

"I think so too. Do you think it's possible that someone deliberately netted pigeons to take home and raise them during a pigeon race nearby? Since it's illegal, and the crows stole the eggs, the person wouldn't dare to reveal it."

"How could they do this?! That's incredibly unethical!"

Everyone here is a pigeon racing enthusiast, and they were all furious when they heard this possibility.

Nowadays, pigeon racing competitions are generally organized by pigeon enthusiasts who provide their own pigeons to the organizers.

The organizers will take the racing pigeons to a designated location for release. After being released, the pigeons will return home on their own.

In general, the races are based on the leg bands of the pigeons, which are used to calculate their average speed at which they fly home, and then the final rankings are determined.

In reality, it is not an easy task for racing pigeons to successfully return home.

They may successfully orient themselves, but they will encounter many obstacles during flight, such as failing to find food, being scratched by cats, or crashing into obstacles. Most infuriatingly, they may be captured and taken away by criminals.

In the past, pigeon racing competitions offered high prize money, and the pigeons that participated in the competitions might have been bred for various reasons, resulting in a mixed bag of quality. Pigeon fanciers' relationships with their pigeons might not have been as deep as they could have been.

The government has issued many regulations to standardize pigeon racing competitions and adjusted the prize money cap several times.

Later pigeon racing competitions became less bloody, and those who participated were generally pigeon racing enthusiasts who truly poured their hearts and souls into raising pigeons, rather than simply doing so for commercial purposes.

That's why people who steal pigeons along the way and profit from it are even more despicable.

However, this is not Shi Wen.

The pigeon eggs in his house were taken from a crow's nest, which can be considered as saving the lives of unhatched little lives.

People may have expressed their feelings, but given his family's situation, there's not much they can say.

After showing the group members around the pigeons, Shi Wen invited them inside for tea.

Shi Wen went to make milk tea, the group members sat at his dining table, looked at each other, and suddenly started discussing quietly.

Don't you guys think the pigeons at Shi Wen's house are especially good?

"Oh, you think so too?"

"Yes. I felt their pigeons were very good the first time I saw them. If they really are descendants of racing pigeons, then that explains it."

"Not only are their bloodlines excellent, but they also raise them very well. Just one look at the pigeons' eyes and I can tell they have great spirit and energy."

"It's a pity he doesn't know how to train pigeons; he's wasted such a talented individual."

"Do you think he'd be willing to sell if we offered him a price?"

"Would you like to? There are over thirty pigeons. If I could take some back, I would definitely take good care of them."

"Me too! Their pigeons are so tempting!"

"Or should we ask them later?"

"Who's asking? Old Liu is asking? With the group admin involved, it's likely to succeed?"

"Ask away. If it works, great; if not, we won't force it."

"Yes, yes, let's talk it out properly and not hurt our feelings."

A group of pigeon fanciers huddled together, whispering and discussing, like a flock of pigeons cooing together.

Shi Wen came out carrying milk tea, she was startled to see them like that.

Upon hearing their request, Shi Wen said, "I hadn't thought of that before. If you want to buy it, I'll have to ask my family."

The group admin Old Liu, immediately brightened up. "Who is it? Do you have anyone in your family who's good at raising pigeons? Can we exchange ideas?"

Shi Wen was indeed stumped by the question and couldn't decide what identity to fabricate for Yan Kexing. After a moment of ambiguity, he said, "My brother is good at it, but he's a great scientist and probably won't have much time. You guys wait while I ask him."

The group members nodded in unison, like a flock of pigeons waiting for food.

Upon Shi Wen this, I said, "Have some tea first. I'll ask him on WeChat and wait for his reply."

Chapter 47

The Shi Wen time Shi Wen texted Yan Kexing was the night before last.

It was too late, so Yan Kexing chatted with him for a few minutes before urging him to go to sleep.

The page is still showing the goodnight message from back then.